Transport minister: The necessary costs to cover potholes in national roads reach EUR 4 bln

The necessary costs to cover over the potholes from national roads reach EUR 4 billion, taking into account that the Company of Romanian Roads Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) has budgeted EUR 800 million for maintenance and restoration, and that the implementation of construction projects from European funds is fiction, said Wednesday the Transports minister, Lucian Sova.

“The budget allocation takes into account what the company forecasts, as well as the co-financing for the construction works from European funds and even the works discount, following a reimbursement request. Of course it has never fulfilled its objectives during these years and in September the money allocated in the state budget are of course, redistributed. On the other hand, the Roads Company knows what happens today. For the maintenance and restoration it has close to RON 800 million. For modernization, infrastructures, national roads- I’m not talking about highways- it has a little over RON 500 million, including a part of the own capital that it makes from Romanian tax discs. On one hand, this figure exists, it’s put in the budget for the ideal case. On the other hand, the amounts for covering over only the potholes in Romania, that produce accidents, are very small, because there is an inventory, a statistical information: to cover over the potholes from the national roads are needed EUR 4 billion, ” said Sova.

He also says that the implementation of construction works from European funds is also fiction because the amounts forecasted to be spent on these works were never fully discounted.

He promised that for the establishment of ministry’s budget for the next year or even for the budget correction he will ask for the allocation of higher amounts for the restoration and maintenance of the national roads.